The Southern Wind

Mar 15, 2016 12:54:44 PM

Cape Horn

The waters around Cape Horn and the great southern ocean are universally recognized as having some of the most intimidating seas on the planet. History supports this infamous reputation, but has also made the Cape Horn's unique geography both awe inspiring and worthy of admiration.
Horn Island, visited on our Australis itineraries, houses one of the world’s southernmost forests. This audacious ecosystem flourishes despite the presence of one of Patagonia’s roughest natural disturbances — the southern wind.

For millennia, the island's sub-Antarctic forest has combined an extensive variety of neighboring species that together have adapted to with these fearsome winds. Plant species have learned to stay low, dense and wide, some species helping the growth of others, coordinating for their mutual protection. At times they compete but eventually they diversify.

Topics: Cape Horn

Mauricio Álvarez

Written by Mauricio Álvarez

Stella Australis Expedition Director — Mauricio was born in Punta Arenas, Chile in 1968. He completed his high school studies and learned English in Washington DC and became familiar with North American culture while traveling through ten U.S. states. He later studied Engineering and Cinematography at university in Santiago de Chile. His relationship with traveling, mountaineering, and photography began at an early age in the Torres del Paine National Park, where he worked as a guide during summer vacations in the 1980s. Continuing with mountaineering and audiovisual production, Mauricio ventured to Europe as part of an alpinist group doing expeditions in the Pyrenees and Alps between 1995 and 2003. His keen interest in the studying and documenting the region's rich in natural history eventually brought him back to Patagonia. In 2005, he joined the Australis expedition team, where he specializes in regional history and the photography of flora. Mauricio is also a talented musician and loves sports. And he's an ACA Level-2 certified kayaker.LANGUAGES : Spanish and English